Above: Underground Mouse, watercolor, by Roberta Hoffman

Notes From the Underground: Musings from the SICA Board

Assembled by Fayra Teeters

From the Chair – Fayra Teeters

Hopefully, this marks the start of a once-a-month posting of thoughts, insights, and musings from your current SICA-USA Board; we’d also like to add any of your thoughts, insights, and musings as they arise, so please send them as the spirit of inspiration strikes you.

SICA-USA has made a slight organizational shift: no longer top-down. We’ve adapted a more communal approach: from each according to his/her ability; to each according to their needs, since service flows from the need to serve and be recognized for the service. Bearing that in mind, the following board members will be performing the following tasks:

Lawrence Pevec: International liaison with SICA, liaison with Subud Archives, videographer for SICA events.
Fayra Teeters: chairing SICA-USA meetings, managing SICA-USA newsletter blog postings, Project Grant Manager.
Jim O’Halloran: Treasurer, managing What’s Happening Event Calendar, and liaison with musical events.
Roberta Hoffman: Secretary, SICA-USA Webmaster, SICA Artists’ Gallery Manager, East Coast liaison for events.
Alexandra Boyer: National Helper liaison to SICA

What’s Happening? – Jim O’Halloran

I’m really excited to talk about a new addition to the SICA-USA website that will be coming soon!

It’s going to be a What’s Happening section with a list of events including links, when possible. The listing will include what Subud members are doing over the next few months. That way you will have details and information making it easier for you to plan to participate if the event moves you to do so.

We’ll post about this again when it’s up and running!

Subud creatives, please keep us posted on what’s happening in your lives so we can encourage Subud turnout!

Conflict of Interest

At our national congress this year, I had a conversation with another member regarding conflicts of interest. That seems to be an issue these days within Subud, the USA in general, and I’m sure the world at large.

Since the current SICA-USA board does remunerate a board member for professional work which is beyond the capabilities of anyone else currently on the board we as a board concluded it would be advisable to solicit a professional opinion on the matter.

We consulted a longtime Subud member and CPA who has no connection to the board for an opinion, and the answer we received was that there was no conflict of interest. All our providers are billing well below typical market rate.

We currently post our annual financial report, but we (the entire board) track our financial status on a monthly basis. The bulk of our expenses currently are for bookkeeping, web posting of articles, and gallery posting/modification; and we are looking forward to further grants to Subud members in the near future for projects furthering the mission and goals of SICA-USA.

Should you like further detail, please email me through the website, and I’ll be happy to briefly address your questions or concerns.

Yours, Jim O’Halloran, Treasurer, SICA-USA

October creative insight – Roberta Hoffman

Life is like a dream – they say if you write down your dreams, you remember them; maybe this can help you interpret them. Could it be possible that stream of life events are trying to tell us something? If you write them down, and/or draw them, the sequence can reveal a meaning or concept? Here is an example of distilling writing from a series of recent events:

Gravity
Up low dark massive cloud
Bangs down shuddering thunder
Ripping the tree from its roots
40,000 pounds of Oak sweeps down
Crushing the sweet things
Red rose lifts its head up from bent stem below

Thing galivants across lumpy swampy wet green grass
60 pounds of muscle sliding beneath
Shimmering ripples of velvet graphite
Hulking face, floppy ears
2 black points on lavender marbles transfix
Suspended in the gaze
Jaws sink down into thigh
Red blood flows down

Back to the culture conversation – Lawrence Pevec

As I work on developing a visual identity (logo) for a European Subud non-profit start-up that engages many aspects of human culture, I find myself ruminating about my nearly lifelong Subud history and its relevance to my personal identity as an artist/designer.

For much of my Subud life I had little interest in SICA and didn’t see how it was relevant considering the activities of the other wings which have specific mandates for charity, youth, health, and enterprise. I joined the board in 2018 at the annual meeting held at Menucha that year.

In addition to working on a large archives video project, my interest in SICA was motivated by participation with other members exploring Subud through the lens of personal and organizational culture, a subject I studied in my MA program. I wrote my thesis on Susila Dharma International and its incredible leadership. I wanted to converse with others and explore the meaning of culture and how our lives are informed by its many facets.

At my suggestion and with our chairperson Paul Nelson’s encouragement, the board, which was much larger than it is now, initiated a culture conversation which I, at least, hoped would shape the relevance and focus of SICA-USA going forward. Of course, this involved looking closely at both our individual cultural backgrounds and influences and the culture of Subud itself.

I hope this subject interests enough people that the culture conversation may pick up again. If this interests you also, please respond with your thoughts and comments.

Welcome Alexandra Boyer

A very warm welcome to Alexandra Boyer, who joins SICA-USA as the National Helper liaison to SICA:

I grew up in Minnesota, then went to college in Santa Barbara CA, which is where I encountered Subud in 1966. Hallelujah!

I have a BA in Dramatic Arts and an MA in British Literature, but my career went in another direction due to the necessity for a sufficient salary to provide for 5 dependents. This was better obtained by tapping into my Nerd side – after all, business creativity is also a form of culture! An MBA in Finance (UCLA) launched my corporate career in large tech companies. I retired in 2013, and today live in Vancouver WA with my husband Philip Lindstrom. I have children/grandchildren in California, Colorado, and New York.

Most of my Subud experience has been as a helper, with the exception of the past 4 years while I was Committee Councillor for Subud USA. I’m looking forward to more frequent contacts with our wonderfully creative sisters and brothers in SICA-USA.

A message to our Readers

And now it’s your turn, dear reader; please add your thoughts, musings, insights as to the nature of SICA, our place in the world, how to express inner receivings in the outer world, or any other inspiration you might have. That’s all possible by responding below (in the comments section):